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Australia Diving recommendations

My nephew is working in Sydney Australia for a couple of years and my wife and I plan to visit him while there. We have a dive trip scheduled to the Philippines in February and we are thinking about tacking on a couple of weeks to the trip and continuing on to Sydney.

My nephew dives, although he probably has less than 50 dives in his logbook. I will probably just bring my OC gear for this trip.

What are good options for sampling the diving in Australia? I am getting the sense that the diving around Sydney is just OK and we need to travel to get to better opportunities.

Re: Australia Diving recommendations

There is plenty of diving tonne had around Sydney, you've early get to 20m from a shore dive or from boats dive reefs, and wreck . There are allot of wrecks in the depth of 50-80m and there are quite a few charters that regularly go there on most weekends.

Re: Australia Diving recommendations

Hi,
Come visit us one hour or so south of Sydney at Shellharbour Scuba.Unfortunately only very shallow"wreckage",but we have a diverse bunch of sites accessible to divers of any level. Pinnacles,The Arch,Hole in the Wall,The Gutter.
Incredible macro,sea spiders,usual nudi's,sea horses and a host of bigger critters.
A crew here dive Posiedon's so long scooter runs any time are always on ,we have a heap of scooters.Max depth only about 3omtrs ,plenty to do,and see.
There is a hand full of operators out to the wrecks of Longreef,leaving Rose Bay Ferry Terminal and most at 40-50mtrs,Coolooli,Dee Why Ferry,Annie Miller,Myola.
Just check the Sydney dive operators for schedules.

Re: Australia Diving recommendations

It depends how far you want to travel, in northern New South Wales South West Rocks is very good, as is Foster and Neilson Bay. In southern New South Wales Jervis Bay can be very good with good weather.

Re: Australia Diving recommendations

What are good options for sampling the diving in Australia? I am getting the sense that the diving around Sydney is just OK and we need to travel to get to better opportunities.

Nothing could be further from the truth. There is extensive wrecks to dive between 50 and 90m. Recently a large wreck of the hmas pioneer was found at 67m. there is weedy sea dragons to see and magic point sharks. Bring your drysuit and breather!
if breather diving in sydney, look up southern cross divers.

Re: Australia Diving recommendations

Sydney is a fantastic place to dive, it has some diverse diving opportunities if you are after shore or boat dives. Yes sometime the viz maybe down but that is the same everywhere, I've dived a lot back in Europe and Sydney is far better.

Re: Australia Diving recommendations

It depends on what kind of diving you like to do.

Do you like bright, lively reefs? Stay an extra week in the Philippines. It will be cheaper, warmer, easier and with better diving.

Do you like wrecks? Go to Truk or stop on one of the liveaboards doing the Prince of Wales / Repulse on your way through from there to Australia. It will be cheaper, warmer, easier and with better diving.

Do you like big fish and whales? They will have them cheaper, warmer, easier and with better diving in a lot of other places.

Do you like caves? Maybe not warmer, but elsewhere you'll find it cheaper, easier and with better diving.

Much as Aussies like to crow amongst ourselves at our great diving, you'll find it's generally pretty average compared to a lot of places overseas. You'll find it's riddled with rules and encumbrances and the quirks of whichever operator you're going through. And Australia is bloody expensive, no matter what you're trying to do.

In Perth we're blessed with a "close" Ningaloo reef (only 1500km away) but most people will fly to Bali, Lembongan or the Gilis if they want a quick week's worth of good diving. Because it's cheaper, easier, warmer and with better diving.

/cynic

If you are diving in the Philippines and then come diving in Australia you are going to be bitterly, bitterly disappointed. I'd be focussing on just getting on the logistically easiest dive I could with Junior, and enjoying a few beers afterwards. Maybe ask him to line something up for when you're there with his usual dive charter?